Naturocity

The new gallery is up, and I have already started populating it with photos. This past weekend I was able to watch my friend, Eartha the sea turtle, released back into the ocean. It was a great ceremony and many people came to watch her return to her home in the open sea.

I will be posting a story about Eartha in the new section to be called, Photo Essays. Look for it soon. There is a short story about Eartha in my journal, but I will be creating a much more detailed essay.

Until then, visit the gallery and take a look at some of the photography I have done over the past year.

Dan

When I go on a trip I have a set of essential items I always take with me. My flash, several extra memory cards, an extra battery, and my Wolverine flashPac portable drive. I usually carry 2 4GB, and 3 2GB memory cards with me. I also always shoot in RAW format For my D200, that means approximately 15 Megabytes per image. I can always upload the compact flash cards to my MacBook Pro, but I also prefer a little safety net. The Flash Pac allows me to download all my memory cards to an 80 Gigabyte portable hard drive.

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Next year I am planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park. In order to get those magnificent shots I can only imagine I will have the opportunity to get, I will need at least a 500mm f4 lens. I could pop over to bhphoto.com and drop $8000.00 on a lens, and spend the next 3 years trying to pay it off on my credit card. Or, I can choose another option, a more fiscally responsible option.

Lens rentals has recently become a booming business, and one company has stood out among the rest as a leader. I recently had the opportunity to correspond with Roger Cicala of LensRentals.com to discuss what makes his company stand out. He was kind enough to answer several of my questions.
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As a member of kiva.org, I was pleased to see a lending team called “Animal Lovers.” What is kiva.org? Kiva is a way for people like you and I, to loan money to people in third world countries. Imagine the satisfaction of a small loan helping a small business owner in need. Kiva uses micro-financing to distribute money to those in need. Over time the entrepreneur’s repay their loan, and the repayment is put back into the lenders Kiva account to lend out to someone else in need.

The Animal Lovers group was created by member Mark CDT (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Mark has a deep love of animals, and has the spirit needed to make things happen. As the team captain, Mark recently rallied the troops to not only help those in need, but to also help our animal friends in need. Starting September 22nd, and going on until October 31st, Mark is donation $2.00 to the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) International for the first 25 loans made by a team member. In response to this, the members jumped in and started loaning money to those in need. As of this article, the group, comprised of 118 members, has made 388 loans totaling $10,825.00 since August 28th.

As a member of the Animal Lovers Kiva group, I have decided to step up and match his donation dollar for dollar. I will also donate what ever amount is donated to the SPCA, to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

This passed weekend, my wife and I visited the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach Florida. This is a non-profit center that treats injured and sick sea turtles.  The hospital at the center treats turtles that are injured by boat propellers, fishing line, and fishing hooks. A donation to organizations such as this, and the SCPA, and ASPCA helps those who can get out there and help, do so.

If you don’t have the time to get your hands dirty, then reach your hand in your pocket and help those who can.

Off of A1A along the shoreline of Juno Beach is the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Every year loggerhead and leatherback turtles are brought her for medical attention and care. The center is dedicated to not only protecting adult loggerhead turtles, but is also active in protecting the nests of these beautiful animals along Florida’s beaches. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone asks me what my secret is to taking really cool nature photographs. The secret is : The photo is more than just your subject, its a story. It’s key to remember that everything in nature is related to something else in nature. By this I mean, a spider alone may be a good photograph, but a spider in it’s web could be a better one. A closeup of a cheetah maybe beautiful, but to see him prance, pose under the shade of a tree would enhance the photo. Remember the movie Jaws? The photographer (who happened to be eaten by the shark) randomly shot a photo of the sharks eye. Not really a great shot. But it, prior to becoming shark bait, he would have stepped back and it would have been a better shot. A photograph should tell a story. Even if that story is, “Holy crap I just got eaten by a shark” Read the rest of this entry »

I was looking for a lens to allow me to go from wide angle landscape shots, to short range zoom. The Nikon 18-200mm VR lens allows me to do that, and provides image stabilization, and fast focus. It is, in my opinion, a perfect All-Around lens for traveling. With a zoom ratio of 11.1x even objects in the distance are within your grasp. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes, a tripod is just not possible, or needed. Sometimes you just want something to steady the camera while you lean on a nearby surface. Many of the wildlife preserves I visit have boardwalks that also have railings. What I need is something that can steadying the camera on the railing. I tried bean bags, but they were awkward to deal with. Enter the Pod. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the first article in a series I call “What I use”. These articles will spotlight the equipment when taking photographs. So it only makes sense to start the first article with the camera body I use. As the title shows, I currently use a Nikon D200 Pro-level D-SLR. Read the rest of this entry »

I will be visiting the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter Florida this weekend. This sanctuary sprang to life in 1994 as a joint venture with the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Environmental Education Center and the Peter W. Busch Family Foundation. Since then, the sanctuary has provided veterinarian care to thousands of wild animals each year. Read the rest of this entry »